Jeff Merchant - Window Rolled Down

Featuring the significant talents of Stew(The Negro Problem), Probyn Gregory and Nelson Bragg(Wondermints, Brian Wilson), Jeff Merchant`s "Window Rolled Down" is just what the doctor ordered if you are looking for something eminently gorgeous, yet familiar, challenging, different but not too far out there and just simply a head-phone pop experience. Jeff Merchant is a purveyor of slickly arranged orchestral indie-pop with jazz and folk undertones. It is one remarkably smooth listen, carrying the listener effortlessly along from auspicious start to fine finish. Multi-influenced, not trying to sound like anyone else, Merchant doesn`t identify with any particular musical style or genre. He`s more interested in well-written, compelling songs that have both a strong melody and a message. Fans of the bands` musicians who appear on this album, will find musical kinship, too.

""Window Rolled Down" provides a dizzying mix of melody, textures and conceptual design; such a broad mix, in fact, that even a generous sixteen songs can`t seem to contain it all. While he`s enlisted some impressive collaborators, it`s Merchant`s ability to turn a phrase and take his tunes into unexpected realms that makes Window Rolled Down both a challenge and a triumph. The songs meander along with an easy lilt, buoyed by lush, billowy arrangements thick with atmosphere and effervescence. That said, the dense ambiance sometimes tends to obscure the melodies and cloud subject matter that might otherwise tip the proceedings towards weightier terrain. Nevertheless, after soaking up the pretty, wistful sigh of "All Of The Times" or reveling in the stirring strains of "Wounds Will Heal," it quickly becomes apparent that Merchant`s a master when it comes to crafting lofty tunes with instant appeal."-Entertainment News. "Those who are tired of waiting for something to released from the Donovan camp can rest easy. Jeff Merchant`s "Window Rolled Down" will satisfy those cravings nicely. His songs are amazingly complex with intrinsic orchestrations and beautiful vocal arrangements. The harmonies are catchy as are the song structures, each of which is as unique as the last. You may have heard him in his cult-fave psychedelic rock outfit the Lullabies but if not this is a perfect introduction to his brand of multi-instrumental indie pop that would fit Brian Wilson-indeed some of the members of Wilson`s band contribute on the album. Excellent eclectic folk pop."-Smother.net.

"4 stars.. One of the myths about the car culture that is Los Angeles is that all those rolling cubicles cut the citizens off from each other. But Merchant`s L.A. is an interactive community in which complete strangers buck each other up. He backs that world view with his musical approach, a chamber pop style that mixes his acoustic guitar with warm classical instruments such as cello, French horn, and recorder on melodic, mid-tempo tunes that he tops with his pleasant, ingenuous tenor. The overall sound is reminiscent of some of Richard Barone`s recordings of the late `80s and early `90s. But lest things get too chummy and childlike, the lyrics have recurrent dark tones. After all, the singer attracts the motorcyclist`s attention because he looks so distressed, and he isn`t the only one in these songs who has problems..This is the Los Angeles of Paul Thomas Anderson`s Magnolia, and Window Rolled Down would make a good alternative soundtrack to Aimee Mann`s song score for that 1999 film."-AMG. A special, gripping and consistently beautiful piece of musical art from beginning to end and Extremely Highly Recommended!

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